Since before even that awful looking Sony All Stars game, I've been wanting someone to make a decent Smash Bros clone for current gen consoles. It looks like that finally might be happening. I just hope the F2P elements don't get in the way too much, but at least it could lead to a larger community.

If you're interested in more, here's a big Ask me Anything from the developers:

The #ESports shit at the end of that trailer really ruined it.

I've been playing this on PC since it was in closed beta. The F2P stuff is just cosmetics, skins and taunts and stuff.

That's good to hear. Does that mean every character is free, or at least unlockable through in-game currency? And what do you think about the game itself? How do you feel it compares to Smash?

Curious how fun the game actually is to play, because I almost can't stand the free to play phone game art style of those characters (even has slightly large heads).

Characters (well, "legends") are on a rotation, with 6 of them free every week. You can permanently unlock them with in-game gold, which they're pretty generous with.

I haven't played enough of Smash, or of most fighting games really, to give an authoritative comparison. Some players say it's more like Marvel vs Capcom, and the real characters are the weapons and the legends are just "teams" of weapons. I can say that it feels a lot less chaotic than Smash-- fewer, more-balanced items and no overpowered super moves-- and that it's really quite balanced. I've put close to 50 hours in and, while I'm not terribly good, I am having a lot of fun with it.

@pezen: The game itself is quite fun in my opinion, but they need to add more items if they ever want to be taken seriously when compared to smash bros. There's hardly any item pick ups. Then again, they're really trying to push the whole 2-weapon system for each character. If they stick to that and don't introduce more items then I'll probably bail on it.

Uuuuugggggh. Not every game with PvP needs to be the next big thing in Esports. In fact, this game's competitive scene is probably already dead.

Stuff like this has been happening all year, and really is in need of a well deserved "Please Stop" award.

It's the most popular fighting game on Steam according to SteamCharts.

Probably because it's the freest one.

@likeassur: A chance at what? There are lots of games with less than 10k people playing-- most games, in fact-- and Brawlhalla's numbers are still climbing. Going to PS4 with cross-platform-play can only help it.

I do agree with the overall sentiment about the #esports feel to the end of the trailer. Let the game stand on its own merits.

I have a buddy that did some animation and art for the game but is no longer with the company. It seemed alright...though in the closed beta it seemed like the guys were realllllllly floaty. And it's a big flash game. Anyways, if you want to check out some of his art from the game, he's @unbroken_skies on twitter.

i have this on steam played it a bit but didn't really cared for it but is not like i love the smash bros series i only enjoy it in small burst with friends so i guess with this game it would be the same but my friends do't play on pc

I played it at PSX on Saturday, it's fun and I'd definitely reccomend it

I really like the Viking Link guy in the middle left

Isn't the appeal of Smash Bros that it's a mashup of Nintendo characters? I know there are people who play it competitively, but the Nintendo characters are the appeal for most people who buy those games, right? Random F2P mobile game looking characters don't really have the same appeal.

@cameron: Yeah, the main appeal to Smash is being able to punch people with Mario or whatever. Brawlhalla isn't really a Smash clone, nor does it try to be, and people are going to be disappointed if they're just looking for a Smash reskin rather than looking at the game for its own merits.

Not a fan of the style, but it looks like it plays fine. Still, a lot of the charm of Smash is the silly character mash-up, and this game ain't hittin that for me.

@cameron: I'm someone who has played Melee excessively in a competitive manner since 2005. To me, that's one of the greatest games ever made. But I wouldn't say that the Smash Bros. series is one of my favorite series ever. And that is because the physics changes. The physics is what makes Smash what it is. And the reason I think they can't be replicated is because the characters are mostly developed to play off of their skills from their main series. Peach is very floaty and has her default float from Mario Bros 2 in the Smash series. You probably won't see something like this in a Smash clone because it's an odd gameplay mechanic to put into a fighting game with no real backstory.

To me it's not the fact that I care to see Nintendo characters fighting each other (although that is pretty cool), but it's the way Nintendo tries to make the characters play "faithfully" to their personality and abilities when it comes to combat. If Smash Bros were its own series without the Nintendo characters, but with the exact same engine and mechanics, I think it would be a flop because of the gameplay.

And yeah, this game isn't great.